Cabin Update, Another Saw, and Some Exciting News

As the cold weather approaches here in the Appalachians, most of our friends and neighbors can be observed splitting and stocking up on wood to get them through the winter months. While the daytime temperatures have been fairly mild and fall like here, we’ve had a few nights below freezing already, which is not unusual here in the mountains. And while most of the contractors around here are beginning to focus on interior renovation and remodeling work (they like to stay warm when they can), I’m gearing up to spend the cold months – well – cold.

While there has been slow progress made over the last few months, the cabin still isn’t quite closed up and dried in yet.

It’s been quite a treat to watch our new cabin coming together, slow as it may be going. And while progress has been slower than we had hoped, at least there’s been progress. All the log walls are up, the dormers are framed, the interior finished roof is on and covered in moisture barrier, and the foundation is waterproofed and back filled. Hopefully, by mid December, the porch will be on, the windows and doors will be in, and the roof will be finished. But that means I get to spend the winter months framing and finishing interior walls, running the electric service, and building cabinetry…in the cold. There’s not going to be any source of heat in the cabin until more of the interior work gets done, so it’s shaping up to be a chilly winter for me. Still, it should be the last winter we have to spend in the current house dealing with it’s inconvenient and unhealthy problems. If all goes as planned, we should be able to move into the new cabin by the start of next fall.

In the meantime, I have gotten a few hours here and there in the shop. Work continues on the new full sized tool chest, and I did build myself another new saw. Since most of my other saw handles are done in cherry, I couldn’t resist the urge to update my sash saw. So I built myself a new one, with a milled brass back and cherry handle. Like my old one, it is 14″ long, with a slightly canted blade, and 13 PPI, filed crosscut. Unfortunately, the blade got a little rust spotted due to the conditions in the shed that I call my shop at the moment (hence the need for a full sized tool chest). The rust polished off, but left some spotty stains in places along the bottom half of the blade.

The blade is 14″ long and 13 PPI, filed crosscut. The milled brass back came from Blackburn Tools, the saw bolts came from TGIAG. The saw blade was custom cut and filed by me.

The handle is cherry with a carved lamb’s tongue in a later 19th century style.

In other news, I have recently begun discussions with a local art school about evening and weekend woodworking classes. The school has built a brand new woodworking shop that they opened last November where they offer an open studio once a week, as well as a variety of classes. Their program is currently going through some changes, but I hope to be involved with them in the near future. So far, my discussions with them have been very promising and I’m very excited for the possibility to work with them in the future. Stay tuned for more!